When I see an article like this, I am reminded of a quote from Utah Philips: "The earth is not dying, she is being killed... and the people killing her have names and addresses!"
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Bitumen Who’s Who
Six influential individuals who's opinions count regarding oilsands development
From Western Gold: Heavy Oil and Oilsands in Canada
There are a lot of things about Alberta’s oilsands that are nice to know:
The resource covers an estimated 140,000 square kilometres, arching across northern Alberta from the Peace River region in the northwest to the Fort McMurray region in the northeast, where the bulk of the resource is found.
There are an estimated 175 billion barrels of bitumen locked in the oilsands, some say enough to satisfy global demand for petroleum for the next 100 years.
Mineable bitumen deposits are located close the surface, and all of Alberta’s mineable sands are found in the Fort McMurray area.
About two tonnes of sand must be dug to yield just one barrel of oil.
The vast majority of Alberta’s bitumen resource is found at depths greater than 75 metres—too deep for mining techniques. For these deposits, most deeper than 400 metres, various in situ techniques have been developed that either apply heat to the bitumen or thin the bitumen through the use of additives to coax it to flow to production wells.
Over the next four years, industry will spend an estimated $77 billion bringing new mining and in situ projects on stream.
Current oilsands production averages more than a million barrels per day; over the next decade, that figure could triple, and by 2030, daily oilsands production could be as high as five million barrels per day.
Those are all things that are nice to know about Alberta’s oilsands. But in the hurly-burly world of Alberta’s bitumen boom, often who you know is at least as important, if not more important, than what you know. The oilsands business is peppered with folks who are key to the successful development of a new project, to the profitable operation of an existing project, to living life in the midst of Canada’s greatest economic boom in more than a generation.
These are some of those people.
Dr. Maurice Dusseault
Deputy director, Porous Media Research Institute
University of Waterloo, Ontario
Why you need to know him:
Maurice Dusseault is one of the many people who are a product of the Alberta Oil Sands Technology and Research Authority (AOSTRA), which has been replaced by the Alberta Energy Research Institute. Many of these people hold key positions in the heavy oil and oilsands industry today. Maurice Dusseault has authored close to 400 technical papers related to heavy oil and oilsands, and is exemplary of the “addictive buzz” the industry creates.
What was AOSTRA? What were its key accomplishments?
AOSTRA was created in 1974 by the Alberta government, and lasted 25 years as an agency to fund research into oilsands technology. It supported research with industry to the tune of over $800 million during this period. Perhaps its stellar accomplishment was to fund a field pilot in steam assisted gravity drainage, despite profound industry disinterest at the time. This technology, affectionately called SAGD, has revolutionized the heavy oil industry, resulting in 174 billion barrels of recoverable reserves to be allocated to Alberta in 2002–2003.
Why is collaboration important for oilsands and heavy oil research?
Oilsands and heavy oil research has benefited from single academics working alone in universities, and from large teams of scientific and industrial researchers working toward specific goals. Some problems are best suited for a single expert researcher, but most of the problems are multidisciplinary, and need input from persons in a wide variety of disciplines.
Why is Canadian technology popular for heavy and extra-heavy oil development around the world?
Canada, especially Alberta and to a lesser degree Saskatchewan and the federal government, have invested billions of dollars into heavy oil and oilsands technologies. Direct funding from the provinces, industry, and the federal government is only part of it. Many academics in Canada have dedicated large amounts of time and public facilities to research and education as well.
Canada was the first country in the world to produce over a million barrels per day of heavy oil and synthetic crude, and that level continues to increase. Other countries are interested because we do it best, thanks to the huge investment, stable government, and industry commitment to research and field trials for over 30 years. What has happened in Canada is a model for other countries.
Jim Boucher
Chief
Fort McKay First Nation
Why you need to know him:
About 65 kilometres north of Fort McMurray, the approximately 500-strong community of Fort McKay is surrounded by oilsands and oilsands-related development. Under the leadership of Jim Boucher, who became chief in the 1980s, Fort McKay has become actively involved in industry, from reviewing project applications to supporting development through its limited companies, which generated about $85 million in revenue in 2006. Boucher has also been chair of the Athabasca Tribal Council for over 11 years.
What role does the Fort McKay First Nation play in the oilsands industry?
We have two roles. One is oversight with respect to projects, looking at applications and their impact on lifestyle, animals, and the environment within our region. We have built up our capacity so that we can be engaged and represent our interests. As a result of that, we have developed relationships with industry and government.
The other role is a support function. We have developed our own people so that we have education systems and ways to be involved in the resource extraction industry. In the future, we plan to develop our own resources in a partnership with Shell Canada.
Why has Fort McKay taken this approach to development?
We used to have a thriving economy from trapping. Our people used to make a substantial amount of money on a yearly basis, until the anti-fur campaign successfully drove down the price of fur. We had to find another way to make a living. At the moment, the oilsands is the only game. We’ve had to change the way we work in our community, but it has come at a cost, of course. We work with industry and government to reduce impacts. Certainly we want to be leaders in the way we develop our resources and how it disrupts the environment.
How can Fort McKay ensure its sustainability long into the future?
That is one of the foremost questions not just for Fort McKay, but also for other communities. We need to situate ourselves so that we have future economic opportunities as the oilsands industry dissipates. It is very incumbent upon us that we prepare for that event. We need to continue to develop educational and economic models to continue to be self-sufficient in the future.
Neil Camarta
Senior vice-president, oilsands
Petro-Canada
Why you need to know him: Neil Camarta has earned a prominent spot in the who’s who of leaders in oilsands development. Long before “megaproject” became a buzz word, Camarta led the mammoth $6-billion Athabasca Oil Sands Project from planning to start-up. Today, the man who invented his own language to describe oilsands project management leads Petro-Canada’s oilsands portfolio.
Why do you call the oilsands industry a “sausage factory”?
Building these megaprojects is like linking sausages. You have to approach things in bite-sized, manageable pieces. But it’s also important to continuously plan for the next phase, and then the phase after that. That way you minimize execution risk by pre-building to keep costs down and retaining an experienced workforce. These projects are elephants, but by linking the sausages, we can wrestle them to the ground.
Where do you see the oilsands industry in 2015?
For one thing, our Fort Hills mining project should be into its second or third phase by then, producing up to 350,000 barrels per day of bitumen. At MacKay River, we’ll be up to 70,000 barrels per day, and our other in situ prospects will be well along the planning curve. So Petro-Canada will be in a great position in 2015.
As an industry, I think oilsands will play an increasingly important role to 2015 and for decades beyond. These are the ultimate long-life resources. Conventional crude sources are in decline, including here in western Canada. Supply has to come from somewhere, and the most secure and reliable source right now is Alberta’s oilsands. There are projections out there calling for three million barrels per day of oilsands production by 2015, and I think that’s achievable.
What will it take to get there?
We’ve got some work to do on things like water supply and regional infrastructure, but collectively the energy industry is working with governments and other stakeholders to make sure we get things right. The most important thing for the success of these large projects is great execution, and that requires a predictable playing field. We’re willing to step up to the plate on things like environmental sustainability, but we need the certainty to make sound investments.
Dan Woynillowicz
Senior policy analyst
The Pembina Institute
Why you need to know him:
Since 2003, Dan Woynillowicz has spearheaded the Pembina Institute’s role in the review of proposed oilsands projects and in the multi-stakeholder initiatives advocating the regional environmental management and monitoring of the oilsands industry. He has also delivered expert testimony on the environmental impacts of oilsands development to provincial and federal regulatory review panels.
How does the Pembina Institute define sustainability?
Our focus is on sustainable energy solutions. This requires that we produce and consume energy in a manner that ensures economic, social, and environmental sustainability for our generation and that of our children and grandchildren. We envision a world in which our immediate and future needs are met in a manner that protects the Earth’s living systems.
What recommendations does the Pembina Institute offer to the heavy oil and oilsands industry to support responsible development?
Responsible development will require significant innovation and evolution in extraction and upgrading. Oilsands companies must acknowledge that the environmental impacts of their individual operations contribute towards cumulative environmental impacts. With this in mind, companies must evaluate whether and how they can develop projects in a way that respects the limits of environmental sustainability.
With the rate and scale of development, the technologies and approaches of the 20th century are no longer adequate. Significant step-wise changes in technology are required to dramatically reduce the impacts on air quality, fresh water, the boreal forest, and global warming.
What are your top two hot button issues relating to heavy oil and oilsands?
One, action on global warming. The governments of Alberta and Canada have continually delayed imposing tough regulations on greenhouse gas pollution. As Albertans and Canadians see more global warming impacts—such as the spread of pine beetle into the boreal forest and impacts to freshwater sources—there will be growing pressure on both the oilsands industry and government to actually start reducing greenhouse gas pollution.
Two, managing the pace and scale of growth. Albertans are increasingly concerned about the environmental and social implications arising from the pace of oilsands development. At the heart of the issue is the fact that the government doesn’t have the policies and systems in place to manage the current, let alone future, scale of oilsands development. There is an urgent need to catch up to existing development and then get ahead of future development to ensure public interest decisions are being made.
Melissa Blake
Mayor
Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo
Why you need to know her:
Melissa Blake is the vibrant and determined voice of the main municipality bearing the growing pains brought on by expanding oilsands development. She leads the crusade to ensure that there is enough regional infrastructure in place to support the growing number of people required to quickly increase oilsands production to meet demand. She also plays a key role in expressing the community’s concerns about cumulative effects.
What’s it like to watch Fort McMurray undergo such rapid growth?
I’ve got two minds on that, obviously. I’m inconvenienced like everybody else when there are traffic delays and service lineups. On the other hand, I am very excited that when we get past those points of challenge, what kind of community we’re going to have in the end.
We’re going from what I knew growing up—[a population of] about 30,000 to 35,000, to 100,000-plus in the next five years. That’s a significant change in the community.
What does a sustainable oilsands industry look like to you?
It’s something that’s well planned out and you know what the impacts are going to be before you put your shovels or pipes into the ground. The end result is already predetermined before you start, which means reclamation efforts are built into the planning.
The other really important thing is to look at the cumulative effects. So, we don’t look at individual applicants. We look at the multitude of projects that are happening. And, again, having that end-state base plan in place and the compliance to ensure that we’re not exceeding the thresholds related to air emissions, terrestrial disturbance, or water use. So we would have an informed picture of what it would be like and manage against what the thresholds would be. And I’m just not sure we had enough of that information on the cumulative impact.
What would you identify as the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo’s most important mandate?
Balance. I say that because there are so many things coming at us. What we learned in the last election is the fact that we had been putting off our quality of life projects for fire halls, roads, and services. People said, “Enough’s enough. I’ve been here for X number of years. I’ve got kids and they should have the ability to not have to play hockey at 10 o’clock at night.”
We need to look at our budget again and make sure we’re balancing all those growth items with quality-of-life items. To support our long-term vision, we created an initiative called Future Forward. It allows us to look beyond the bumps in the road.
Kirk Bailey
Executive vice-president, oilsands
Suncor Energy
Why you need to know him:
What can new oilsands producers learn from Suncor?
Maintain a dual focus. Growth is important, but so is the foundation on which growth is built. So while pursuing major expansion projects, always keep a firm eye on the health of existing operations. Both must excel for your company to succeed.
Keep the lines of communication open—listen to your employees, consult your stakeholders, and understand your customers. Be open and honest. Be prepared, but also be open and transparent about the challenges and how you are tackling them. This will build credibility with your stakeholders and instill confidence in your investors and customers. You’ll need both when things go wrong (and they will).
What is the biggest challenge Suncor faces as it continues to expand?
Recruitment and retention. The issue of workforce shortages affects everyone, from the corner grocer to the largest corporate or government employer. Unless we plan wisely, the oilsands industry’s huge demands for skilled labour could exacerbate the situation across the economy.
To minimize our impact on other employers, Suncor is committed to doing its hiring as systematically possible. The company is also acting to relieve regional labour pressures by shifting more work off-site.
To increase the labour pool, both for our own company and the broader economy, Suncor has strategic partnerships with several post-secondary institutions, including a $3-million investment in a major initiative at the Northern Alberta Institute for Technology.
Whenever possible, Suncor prefers to hire locally. The company supports several training programs at Fort McMurray’s Keyano College and is a key participant in the Alberta Aboriginal Apprenticeship Project.
Are there any misconceptions aboutthe industry you would like to address?
There is a misconception in some quarters that the oilsands industry is interested only in growth—and at any cost. This is simply not true.
Yes, the oilsands industry impacts the environment. But we work hard to mitigate those impacts, and with considerable success.
By harnessing technology to improve overall energy efficiency, Suncor has significantly reduced its greenhouse gas emissions on a per-barrel basis. We have similarly reduced the intensity of our water consumption.
Suncor, along with industry partners and governments, is working to develop carbon capture and storage, and we continue to invest in other new technologies, including gasification and geothermal energy. These investments would be impossible without the revenues generated by a sustainable oilsands industry.
Some critics say today’s environmental challenges are too great and so oilsands development should be slowed or halted. Then again, a decade ago, many suggested that the industry as a whole could never be made economically viable. Through good planning and the innovative use of technology, we proved the skeptics wrong. The same strategies, we believe, will allow us to demonstrate that energy development and environmental excellence can proceed in tandem.
